Ambrai V
Born in Reiza Palace in the year 498, the first of four children, as a young prince he was less inclined to what were considered manly sports, and more drawn to study and learning in the classroom. When his father was approached by his advisers on the subject, he waved them off and informed them that it was better that the Ez'Rei study law than swordplay, so that he might serve his country better. And so, even as his younger brothers, born several years after him and so too young to be playmates, learned how to wrestle and ride, the young Crown Prince stayed locked up in his rooms, having a voracious appetite for books on subjects of all kinds. As the next ruler of his country he was expected to learn how to ride and how to handle a sword, and he did so, but with a poor grace. For the rest of his life he did not travel unless it could be helped, and always he carried some books with him wherever he went and, as he grew older, learned scholars whom he could speak to on long journeys attended him. It was this lifelong habit that earned him the nickname Adi'Rus Rei, roughly translated as the Paper Prince. He became an accomplished author in his own right from a relatively young age, writing about subjects as varied as falconry and period architecture. He was the acknowledged authority in his time on the history of Athlante Castle, which he loved very much. He was the first prince in four generations to have a red-gold hair colour, which is why he was given the same name as his illustrious forebear, Ambrai I. He is the only prince of the royal line to share his name with any ancestor, a more traditional aspect of royal families outside Ossetia. It is not known why he did not continue with this naming convention during the Naming of his only child and heir, Ambrai VI. Link II enjoyed the company of his young siblings, but he was closest to Prince Chelan, who he felt understood him better than the rest of the family. This relationship was to be soured irrevocably when the Crown Prince was nineteen and Prince Chelan fifteen. During a visit to the neighbouring princedom of Hyrule, the children of both families were introduced to each other. Special attention was paid to the meeting of the Crown Prince to Princess Lyela, then aged sixteen. It was hoped at the time to match the two in a wedding, and the meeting was reported to go very well, to everyone's satisfaction. Link II and Lyela did seem to like one another, but the younger and more dashing Chelan also liked Lyela and, always more sociable than his bookish, awkward elder brother, drew Lyela's attention away from him. The crown prince was furious and did not speak to Chelan again for several years, feeling that he had made a fool of himself. Chelan later wrote in his journal that, "It was a silly thing, that attraction between two young people, that could never last long", but the damage was done. After graduating, Link II did join the military but, having never had much of a liking for bodily active pursuits, he was assigned as an aide to Lead General Athil Dalakard, who was by then too old to engage in active combat. After being given Wentyn Castle, he kept to himself, studying and training for when his turn came to be the ruling prince. It was he who founded the library at Wentyn, and some of the books he wrote are still stored there today. On his twenty third birthday, a celebration party was held for him at Feruche. It was there that he met Lady Izaea Sangna, daughter of a prominent member of one of the tribes of the desert. The story goes that, as socially inept that he always was, he escaped the great hall of Stronghold and wandered the corridors alone, stopping at the library which he thought would be empty. While searching for a favourite book, he found Izaea sat at a table reading a treatise on the desert boundaries set hundreds of years before. Izaea was typical of the tribes people, having dark skin, hair and eyes. The Crown Prince was reportedly entranced with her and spoke later that evening with her father, requesting that she attend him at Wentyn so that they may continue the debate they had struck up in the library. They married a year later. Throughout the years of their they were the subject of many rumours and stories, as no pregnancies followed their marriage. It was rumoured that they sought medical help, but nothing could be found wrong with either of them. When Ambrai IV died of a stroke and Link II ascended to the throne, the issue became serious and some of his advisers, reportedly including his youngest brother Yarin, told him that on the grounds of no royal heir being produced, he divorce Izaea and marry again. Their suggestion had the opposite effect intended, for he roundly berated them for even thinking such a thing, and had them all personally beg her forgiveness. The two were saddened by their inability to have children and the obsession of the country with it, but they only grew closer as the years passed. His ministers advised him to name one of his sibling's children as his heir. People looked to Prince Chelan's teenage son Prince Arlis, who was said to be growing into a "fine young man". They also looked to his sister Princess Surya's child Prince Isriam who, although younger than Arlis, could be a foregone conclusion as Surya was older than Chelan. As the courtiers gossiped amongst themselves about who would be named heir, the miracle they had all given up on happened. Some time after Link II had turned forty one, the royal doctor announced Princess Izaea's pregnancy. As the nation seemed to hold it's breath during the following nine months, neither Isriam nor Arlis were discounted, as the unborn child could be a girl (and the country's laws at the time absolutely forbid that a princess rule alone), or be one of the victims of the relatively high death rate of newborns. These fears were dashed however, when Izaea gave birth to a healthy boy whom they called Atreyu (his name is an old Ossetic term for "miracle"). The birth of this one child was celebrated more than any other in the nation's history. When the royal family made a brief appearance on a balcony in Reiza palace, they were hailed and praised. The royal couple had finally done what they had been laughed at for being unable to do for all these years. Link II died of what was described by physicians of the time as a wasting disease. At the age of sixty-three, while writing at his desk, he complained of a sudden pain in his chest. He was helped into bed, where he stayed for another three weeks, growing weaker all the time. Princess Izaea, Crown Prince Atreyu and Crown Princess Valera were present at the time of his death. He is remembered as a tireless worker and promoter of peace, with one of his greatest achievements being the founding and building the National University of Ossetia. Category:Ossetia Category:Individuals Category:Leaders Category:Politicians Category:Princes